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Bay Area Air District Releases Report on Martinez Refinery Fire

by CC News
Martinez Refinery Fire

The following was released by the Bay Area Air Quality Control District regarding the Saturday Martinez Refinery Fire. Also included is a 9:00 am Sunday update from the Martinez Refining Company.

Here is the report:

Around 10:45 am, Bay Area Air Quality (Air District) began to receive complaints in Martinez, CA related to chemical/refinery odors. At 12:20 pm, the Air District received a third complaint describing “industrial burning” and “flaring” at the Martinez Refining Company (MRC) refinery.

At 1:45 pm the Air District had already initiated an incident response to these complaints.

At 1:48 pm, the Air District received a Contra Costa County Community Warning System The (CWS) Level 2 alert filed by MRC regarding a fire in the Light Oil Processing (LOP) area of the refinery.  The Air District contacted MRC and dispatched staff to the area to assess the situation. It was learned that a large fire was burning in the LOP area and flaring was also occurring.

Incident Response staff arrived in the area around 2:30 pm and observed a large black plume and flames from the affected process unit. Visible emissions were observed to be in excess of Air District Regulation 6, Rule 1 standards. Wind at the time was 5-15 mph from the south. Air District staff was in communication with MRC and Contra County Health Department throughout the event.

Around 5:00 pm, Contra County Health increased the CWS Level 2 warning to Level 3. As of 7:30 pm, Air District staff received and responded to 30 complaints from the community which were alleging odors and smoke related to the incident. Reports at this time from the refinery indicate that the source of the fuel for the fire has been isolated and the fire is considerably smaller in size. Winds are expected to remain from the south throughout the evening.

The Air District’s investigation of this event is ongoing, and we will provide additional updates when we obtain further information.

Source


Martinez

9:06 am UPDATE – Martinez Refining Company

INCIDENT RESPONSE UPDATE

Martinez Refining Company (MRC) and Mutual Aid Firefighters have succeeded in getting the fire under their control and remain on site responding to the incident. Our top priorities are the safety and security of responders, as well as maximizing protection of public health and safety. You may continue to see residual smoke throughout the day. Flaring continues currently with the potential of intermittent flaring throughout the week. There were no serious injuries, and all personnel have been accounted for. As previously reported, six people were observed by medical personnel and all have been released.

HEALTH GUIDANCE

Contra Costa Health lifted its Shelter in Place Order and issued this message: “A Public Health Advisory remains for Martinez, parts of Pacheco, and Clyde. People with respiratory sensitivity should consider remaining indoors until the health advisory is lifted. This is an advisory message only. For more information, visit cchealth.org. [l.facebook.com]” CCH Hazmat is also able to report, “Air quality in areas near Martinez Refining Company has improved enough that Community Warning System sirens have stopped sounding, but a Public Health Advisory does remain for Martinez, parts of Pacheco, and Clyde. People with respiratory sensitivity should consider remaining indoors until this advisory is lifted. The need for the health advisory will be reassessed on Sunday morning.”

ABOUT FLARING

Flares are an essential part of a refinery’s integrated, engineered safety systems, which are designed to safely manage excess gases through efficient, effective combustion. In addition to seeing the flare, you may feel a rumbling sound which is the result of the mixing of vapors, air and steam during the flaring process. You can learn more about flaring on our website: https://martinezrefiningcompany.com/about-flaring/ [martinezrefiningcompany.com].

MRC FENCELINE MONITORING

MRC’s fenceline air monitoring program uses high-tech sensors to monitor in “real time” specific emissions that may cross the facility’s fenceline. Our systems monitor, record, and report multiple compounds. You are welcome to view real-time fenceline measurements at our air monitoring website: http://www.fenceline.org/martinez/ [fenceline.org]. As of this update, two of our fenceline monitoring paths are offline due to effects from the fire. We are working to get those paths back online.

CLAIMS

If you have a concern related to the incident, MRC has set up a claims line. Please call 800-542-7113 and leave the following information:

  • Full Name
  • Complete Address
  • Telephone Number
  • Email address

In addition, please describe the concern you would like to discuss, and a company representative will return your call.

INVESTIGATION AND FUTURE UPDATES

We are deeply sorry for the disruption and concern we have caused the community. Once the emergency response is complete, we will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident in accordance with the Contra Costa County Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) to identify and implement appropriate corrective actions.

We will continue to work collaboratively with all agencies involved, and thank our employees, mutual aid partners, and agency representatives for their response to the incident. Further updates will be posted on MRC’s social media and website (www.martinezrefiningcompany.com [martinezrefiningcompany.com]). Community inquiries can be made to 925-313-3601.


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